Prince Andrew may have contacted Jeffrey Epstein AFTER the Duke said he had cut ties

Prince Andrew faced fresh questions tonight about his close friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after documents suggested the two men may have been in contact after the royal family said he cut ties.

The Duke of York was infamously pictured walking with Epstein in New York’s Central Park in December 2010 — not long after the disgraced financier was released from an 18-month prison sentence for child prostitution.

Andrew – who was criticized for staying with Epstein at his £60 million mansion in Manhattan during the trip – insisted this was the last time he had contact with him.

He told Emily Maitlis in his Newsnight interview that he never saw or spoke to him again. But emails unearthed by JP Morgan in an investigation into his former executive Jes Staley and his relationship with Epstein seem to suggest otherwise.

Jeffrey Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10, 2019

Prince Andrew (left), Ghislaine Maxwell (centre) and Jeffrey Epstein (right) at Royal Ascot’s Ladies Day, Berkshire, in June 2000

Epstein was a customer of the bank for many years. Following his 2019 arrest, JP Morgan produced a 22-page report detailing his close personal relationship with Mr Staley, who was head of the bank’s private banking arm.

The report, seen by the Daily Mail, also sheds light on his relationship with Prince Andrew. It says that in February 2011—two months after the Central Park meeting—”Epstein writes to Staley, “Andrew asked for your London schedule.” The entry suggests that Andrew may have been in contact with Epstein to inquire about meeting with Mr. Staley.

In November 2019, Andrew gave an interview to BBC’s Newsnight about his friendship with Epstein. Maitlis asked him, “Was that visit, December 2010, the only time you saw him after he was sentenced?” to which he replied, “Yes, yes.”

She asked him, “Did you see him or speak to him again?” To which he replied, “No.”

Andrew claimed the visit to Epstein was to tell him they couldn’t be friends anymore. He told Maitlis by “by mutual agreement during that walk in the park we decided we would part ways and I left I think it was the next day and to this day I have never had contact with anyone from that day had him’.

The emails are part of the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Virgin Islands against JPMorgan, accusing the bank of knowingly profiting from Epstein’s sex trafficking business.

Last year, the Duke paid a £12 million settlement to 39-year-old Virginia Roberts over her allegations that he had sexually assaulted her when she was 17, which he has always denied.

Epstein died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019.

JPMorgan settled a lawsuit earlier this month for allegedly facilitating Epstein’s sex trafficking ring for a reported £231 million. The American bank pays the amount to more than 100 victims of the deceased pedophile.

The bank is still embroiled in a legal battle with Mr. Staley, who has also been accused of sexually assaulting a young woman during Epstein’s Virgin Islands retreat, which he denies.

Prince Andrew did not respond to a request for comment.